The Marionette's Heart
by Urchin of the Riding Stars
Summary: There is no magic strong enough in the world to appease a greedy soul. Or undo a fatal error. Vlad employs Desiree's help in capturing Danny's love and loyalty, only to drive the son he always wanted over the edge.
1. False Heart

The Marionette's Heart

There is no magic strong enough in the world to appease a greedy soul. Or undo a fatal error. Vlad employs Desiree's help in capturing Danny's love and loyalty and drives the son he always wanted over the edge, and gets a monster instead.

~(*o0o*)~

* * *

He'd heard the rumors circulating around the Ghost Zone, and had immediately dispatched all of his resources into scouring the living and spirit worlds for the treasure. The Fright Knight and the Night Mare rode into the deepest depths of the Ghost Zone, and even the klutzy, unreliable vultures were peering under every rock they could find (as well as getting horribly lost in the process). Vlad spent hours online searching for the strange artifact, dispatching teams in his company to track the item down.

It took several months, but at last, he had located the rusty, sorry-looking object in a bazaar somewhere in the Middle East. The booth keeper, who thought he was only selling old junk, was more than happy to accept the price Vlad had offered for the lamp, completely oblivious to its true value. Vlad had smiled blithely like any other naïve tourist when the seller handed the lamp over to him in a plastic bag, though his eyes had flashed red underneath his sunglasses with ravenous glee.

The lamp was kept on his person at all times when he traveled back through the dingy village of Rii'zhan to his private jet, clutched constantly in his sweaty hands. However, he refrained from rubbing the grime away from its old surface at any cost. That would have to wait.

Vlad Masters flew with the lamp back to America, poring over his lists again and again. The old stories had taught him just how badly poorly-phrased wishes could go wrong, and he needed to be absolutely certain that the slave of the lamp would not, could not trick him. He'd heard rumors of the seductive ghost's beauty, and they did not charm her to him a whit.

He didn't have to spend much time thinking what he'd wish for, however. The three wishes had materialized in his mind as soon as he'd heard that Desiree the Genie Spirit had been sealed away in her prison by the wary spirits as punishment for causing unspeakable calamity across the world. According to Fright Knight, Desiree now bore a large number over her heart, forced to grant 1,001 wishes

At last, once he'd arrived back home in his manor in Wisconsin, he

"Of course you do," sighed Desiree, running a hand though her voluminous hair and admiring her reflection in a nearby mirror. "Well, master, do tell me what it is. Wealth?" she asked wearily, peering curiously at the finery all around her. "Seems like you have rather a lot of that already…."

Vlad scoffed at her from across his desk.

"Certainly not.

His eyes glowed with the promise of death. "There's a man I know by the name of Jack Fenton. I wish for you to-"

"Slaughter him by the shambles?" she asked, a smirk curling her violet lips. "Oh, you're no fun at all, master. I'd hoped that a man crazy enough to chase me across the world for my services would be a little more interesting. But you're just like any other desperate, greedy human, aren't you? You're _boring_."

Vlad shot her a poisonous glare.

"Just do it. Kill him. Heart attack, accident, suicide-"

"I cannot," said the ghost calmly, pulling a brush seemingly out of nowhere and running the bristles through her dark locks. "The death of a human being is not something I can do."

For a moment, Vlad just stared at her, stunned. Then, as the full implication of her words washed over him, he flew into a terrible, boiling fury.

"What?" he asked softly, though his fists were trembling with rage. Desiree touched up her makeup, opting not to look at him. "Are you saying you're _worthless_, ghost?"

Offended, Desiree sent him a nasty glance and made her cosmetics disappear with a small _poof!_ of dust. She put her hands on her hips, bangles clanking noisily against one another.

"Well, I can turn your manor into gold, your water into silver, and your very blood into rubies," she said warningly, red eyes flashing as she glided towards him. "I certainly wouldn't call myself powerless."

Vlad just wildly shook his head, letting out a pained roar before knocking all the papers and pen holders off his desk, successfully shattering a vase.

"I don't _need_ more wealth-you _are_ useless, useless to me! I want Madeline's love, or at least my enemy's demise!"

"Rules are rules," said Desiree, biting the inside of her mouth to keep herself from smirking as Vlad stormed like a small child. "I cannot stop a heart, nor can I can create love to exist in one. Love cannot be manufactured, _master_. That would call for the creation of a puppet heart."

Vlad had turned his leather chair away from her, red face buried in his hands. Now, Desiree's words caught his attention. Still angry, but now curious, he turned around.

"What?" he barked warily. "What do you mean?"

Desiree bit her lip, looking pained. It was obvious that she regretted saying anything at all.

"I…I meant nothing by it."

"Tell me!" Vlad demanded in a booming voice. "What the plum tart did you-"

The female threw up her hands, looking weary, as if she had made this speech many times before.

"As I've said, I cannot create love in a heart using magical means-romantic or otherwise. I have tried again and again, but it is against the rules subjected to control a genie's power, which are wise," she admitted grudgingly. "Love is one of the most destructive forces on the planet, master. I am unable to forge genuine bonds between hearts-the ones linked by earnest, mutual affection-but I can recreate feelings somewhat _similar _to love," she said tiredly, shutting her eyes before she saw Vlad's eyes gleam. Too late. "I can create what is known as a puppet heart, and attach it to someone's _true _heart. This fake heart can inspire feelings to the true heart, which is often bewildered and uncertain with its new invader.

"Some true hearts reject the fake heart almost immediately; they recognize these implants as false. Artificial. It depends on the intensity of the fake heart and the ability of the true heart. Other true hearts are much easier to fool; they assume that the fake heart is but a mere extension of the true heart, left undiscovered and unexplored for years. If the fake heart and the true heart are compatible with each other-if the fake heart merely plants a suggestion in the true heart that it is happy to obey, than the two hearts often melt into one another, creating a misshapen new heart. Other times, the true heart may be completely overwhelmed by the size of the puppet heart, and be completely eclipsed. Thus, the true heart is now the puppet of the fake heart."

Vlad stared at her for a moment, and then slowly leaned back in his chair. He sighed, shoulders slumping, eyes closing. Desiree opened her own, and looked anxious.

"If you truly love this woman, you will not subject her heart to such things," she said softly, drifting to the irate man. "I can use my magic to prompt this woman to be attracted to you, but it certainly wouldn't be real. She would be repulsed by herself, living each and every day consumed in pain and doubt. If you _really _wanted her to be by her side, I could bind her heart so that she would have no other choice but to be submerged by the fake heart, but it would be excruciatingly agonizing for her. She'd be a slave in all but name and loathe herself. It would be incredibly traumatic."

"….I don't want to hurt her," Vlad muttered out grimly, feeling very old and wretched at this point. Desiree's words had inspired hope in him, but it had been dashed away once again. He wanted Madeline's true love, in spite of his greed to have her. Tired, he reached into the bottom drawer of his desk, and withdrew a fine glass bottle filled with an amber-covered liquid and a glass. He poured himself a generous amount, and took a sip, thinking carefully.

"You speak of bindings," murmured Vlad, wiping the cognac away from his lips with a napkin. He frowned slightly as he leaned forward, the tips of his fingers touching, eyes narrowed.

"Would it physically hurt the person, to have an additional heart?" he asked.

"Oh, not _literally,"_ said Desiree dismissively. "I meant their _figurative_ heart, with which they feel. But it could cause some physical trauma, yes. I have seen people before so defeated by the dominating nature of a false heart that they become very ill-many commit suicide just to escape the guilt and pain."

Vlad stood up, and began to slowly pace in front of his window, looking troubled. Desiree watched him for a moment.

"I have seen it many times," offered Desiree hopefully. "People try to bind the object of their beloved to them using a wish, but most return to me, beseeching me to destroy the threads I have created. The people they love are but shadows of themselves, unable to express themselves in ways that would contradict the commands of the puppet heart. Wish for a glass of water, or food for a starving village. That certainly hasn't been wished for before."

Vlad ignored her. For many minutes the man paced, before he abruptly stopped dead in his tracks, and whirled around to face Desiree, face set.

"Daniel," Vlad making Desiree cringe. "You will construct a puppet heart for Daniel."

"You really wish me to do this?" she asked quietly, her red eyes smoldering in distaste. Vlad snorted in disdain.

"But of course. It was _your_ suggestion, after all."

Desiree's nails dug into her palms, but the ghost said nothing for a moment. Then, as casually as if she were a waitress taking an order, she asked dryly:

"So, what will the specifics be? Do you want a puppet heart that will make him look upon you with more sympathy? Perhaps make him doubt the ties he has with his loved ones? Make him your groveling, pitiful servant?"

Vlad thought for a moment, a smirk uncurling on his face.

"Tempting….but I'll skip the latter. I don't want him to throw himself immediately. I want him to feel _conflict_. I want his true heart to be doubting itself every second. I want him _to suffer."_

He crossed his legs and leaned back, hands crossed neatly in his lap. Before he could stop himself, he went on:

"I want Daniel to think of me often; to feel some sympathy for my plight. I want him to be concerned about me; to note all my higher qualities and be able to ignore what negatives he might think of me. I want him to worry about me, to care about me."

"Sounds like you just want his pity," commented Desiree. Vlad went on:

"I do not just want that! I want just enough reality to sink into that boy's head to make him realize what he truly is: Half-dead, and all alone in the world. He had friends to help him when he became what he was; I did not! I want him to feel my loneliness, my pain. I want him to feel obliged to seek me out—I want him to feel no peace in his heart until he does! But he will remember his bonds to his family, and he will suffer greatly for defying me!"

Desiree tried to open her mouth, but Vlad was on a roll:

"Ultimately, help Daniel want me as a father, as his friend. Make his heart more susceptible to my interests, so that we'll actually have something worth talking about! Make him feel _calm_ in my presence—with a heightened sense of wellbeing."

An unexpected lump grew in his throat, and Vlad stopped speaking, surprised. Gulping some spirits, he tried to force away the strange burning and firmly continued: "Make him want to be near me. Make him wonder if he can learn something from me. Make the boy feel incomplete without my presence."

Desiree's red eyes cast the man a sad, pitying look.

"So specific. So desperate and needy. But I will do as you ask."

Desiree's hands began to twinkle and sparkle with power. She slowly raised them to the ceiling, and for a moment, Vlad's vision was lost in a blinding flash of light. When his vision again became normal, he saw the number on Desiree's chest had been changed from 1,001 to 1,000. Desiree lowered her hands.

"It is done," she said quietly, drifting over to the window. "All that you have asked. Find me if you change your mind," the genie added, disappearing through the wall. "Which you will, I assure you. I hope you're good at pleading."

~(*o0o*)~

For days, Vlad heard nothing. After some time, he considered that the ghost might have been tricking him, and he descended into a bitterness unlike any he had ever felt before, including the time he'd received Jack and Maddie's wedding invitation in the mail. The billionaire had planted a bug on the teen in the hopes that he'd see some results, but outwardly, Danny didn't look much different at all. He still cracked jokes with his friends, still fought ghosts, still enjoyed playing games. If indeed Desiree had planted a heart, it had changed nothing, or Danny's heart had overpowered the other. Considering the strength of the annoying halfa, Vlad sank into despair.

No; the only difference he could see was that Danny's grades began to slip. But the boy was simply getting careless or lazy—that was no surprise to Vlad. The boy looked more spacey, seemed a tad bit more absentminded, spent more of his time brooding in silence when he was alone in his room. Now and again the slightest hint of sadness would fall over his features, but Vlad dismissed these spells as typical for the average adolescent.

Until the phone call came, that was. One night, he'd been trying to enjoy a solitary game of chess with a glass of wine when his telephone had begun to ring. Irritated and figuring that it was simply one of his executives, Vlad picked it up, only to spit out wine when he'd taken a look at the Caller ID. The Fentons.

Could it be….?

Hammering in his throat, Vlad raised it to his ear, only to quickly draw it back when he heard the love of his life crying out.

"Vlad!"

Astonished, Vlad's unfeeling fingertips slipped away from his wineglass, and the object shattered on the floor. The man was too startled to notice, however. What was Maddie doing, calling him….?

"Vlad, I know it's late, and things are still kind of weird between us, but something's wrong. This is going to take some explaining, but I hope you can fill in the blanks."

Madeline's voice rose like an angry cat's. "Did you say or do something to my son? Please tell me. I'm begging you."

_What was she talking about….?_ Vlad swallowed.

"I said nothing to him," he said honestly, confusion and curiosity coloring his voice. "Maddie, what….did the little badger use my name? What's happening?"

"I'll explain that later," Maddie replied, her voice sounding tearful, much to Vlad's dissatisfaction.

"Danny just-oh, I don't know _what_ happened-we were having a perfectly nice family game night, like the ones we used to have before Danny and Jazz got so busy all the time, and out of nowhere, Danny freaks out and _knocks the table over_! Then, he started screaming and crying and wouldn't let us touch him-Vlad, I'm scared. I'm really scared. Out of nowhere, he starts hollering at Jack for your…your accident several years ago."

Vlad bit the inside of his mouth so tightly he tasted blood. Accident?

"Then he started apologizing and beating his head against the wall, crying. He ran out of the house before long and neither Jack and I can find him! Vlad, tell me he's with you! Jasmine ran to you when she was p-particularly upset a-and I just don't know w-what t-to do anymore-"

Vlad slowly stood up, amazed.

"When did the little badger disappear?"

"A few hours ago. Maybe twelve. The police haven't been helpful at all. Please, has he called you or come to see you?"

Vlad opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a loud and frantic BANG, BANG, BANG, on his front door. Annoyed, Vlad ventured over to the window and drew aside the drapes to see who it was. How had they gotten past the front gate?

His mouth dropped, and the phone slipped from his fingers, falling to land with the broken wineglass and the spilled liquid. Faintly, he could hear a soft buzzing from the phone, as if Madeline were calling his name, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

Except for the fact that Danny Phantom was wildly pounding at his front door, looking desperate. His normally confident and buoyant green eyes were hollows in his thin face; there were shadows lining them too—he hadn't slept. The teen didn't seem to notice that Vlad was watching him, looking every moment like he might fall to pieces.

_"Vlad? Vlaaad? I asked you, have you seen Danny?"_

Vlad ignored her for a moment. He turned his attention to his chessboard, took hold of the white king piece, and casually strutted it across the board, to where the black king and his army lay. The pawns fell before it, and the king went tumbling with the slightest tap from the white king.

A triumphant cackling filled the room.

"Game, set, checkmate, little badger."

Still smiling hideously, the man left the room, assuming a very concerned and innocent expression as he did so.


	2. So Have Your Fun

"What did you do to me?"

"I did nothing."

"Lying bastard."

The two halfas were sitting in Vlad's study, the billionaire playing around with a glass of wine. Seated back in his winged chair, he looked the very picture of royalty, relaxed and serene in his posh habitat. He appeared for all the world uninterested in the teenager's words, admiring his cufflinks as they glinted in the firelight coming from the nearby hearth. But his cold blue eyes kept darting towards the teen, calculating, malicious, almost wild with satisfaction as his young enemy stared at his wrung hands, not looking angry or defiant or difficult. Just _scared_.

Danny's glass had been emptied by the teen in one gulp, and now sat empty on the table between them. The teen let out a nervous hiccup and stared at the ceiling.

"You've got to be doing something to me." Danny's voice was accusing. "Whatever it is, I need you to stop right this instance. I've been brainwashed before, and I'm not gonna let it happen again. Least of all by **you**."

"As I said before, I did nothing to you, dear foolish boy," said Vlad smoothly, subtly ignoring Danny's angry hiss. "Tell me, if I had truly cared enough to change the workings of your near-empty head, wouldn't you perhaps be a smidgen more polite to your elders?"

Danny's fists slammed on the coffee table. "Shut up. You're a lying snake. You're a lying snake and it's your own damn fault that you're so miserable. I shouldn't be feeling sorry for you at all. You're a heartless, obsessive creep."

Vlad saw red. Or rather, his eyes flashed a bloody scarlet and the man leapt to his feet, immediately transforming into Plasmius as he let out a guttural snarl of rage. His gloved hands crackled with electricity, and the bitter ghost raised his hands high, intending to send the teen crashing through the wall. But the man started as violently as if Danny had stabbed him when the boy wearily looked up at him, tears streaming down his eyes.

_Pitying eyes. _

At first, the rage inside of him was worst and he very nearly lunged at Danny then and there. **_How dare you, how dare you, sick little foolish brat who the devil do you think you are I'll kill you for that_** But Danny made no motion to defend himself, much to Vlad's surprise. His hands fell to the sides, terrible energy fading away to nothingness. Danny rocked back and forth in his seat, arms wrapped tightly around himself. The halfa looked like he hadn't been sleeping well, if at all.

"It's all your damn fault," said Danny so quietly he was almost inaudible. "If you'd just learn to **let go** for once in your life…but still…."

The tears started trickling down Danny's eyes. "I've started having horrible nightmares every time I try to close my eyes…about you being in the hospital. About what it must have been like for you to lose your girlfriend and to hurt so damn much all the time. It made me realize** I** got lucky—even though being turned into a half-ghost was the most painful thing I've ever felt." He closed his eyes and wiped at them, trying to regain composure. "It only took a few seconds, but it felt like forever…I just wanted to die and I wouldn't and it felt like I sort of was dying but I was still kinda anchored to my body and the **pain** just kept going on and on, like my blood was freezing and my skin was bubbling off my bones and nothing did not hurt…"

Looking away, Vlad wandered over to his bookshelf across the room, recalling Danny's descriptions all too well. Tired, Danny looked up at him again.

"I never had to go it alone…not really. I had Sam and Tucker to help me when it got…really difficult….but lately, I just…_everything_ hurts." He let out a whimper, and the billionaire was astonished to hear such earnest, _honest_ words coming out of the boy's mouth….directed at _him_, as if he were not a much hated rival, but a friend. "Nothing like the pain that I felt when I turned into a ghost, of course, but I…" Danny seemed to close in on himself, and Vlad immediately crossed the room in two strides, his long arms wrapping around the younger halfa's torso. Danny tensed, and weakly tried to push away, but he didn't simply phase his way free, which Vlad took as a great sign. There was no away that he could ever, ever let such an opportunity pass him by without feeling singular regret.

"What is it, my boy?" asked Vlad soothingly, rubbing a hand over the crown of Danny's head. "What hurts? If you are developing more ghost powers, I can tell you I have been there, and I can help you. What changes have you been noticing?"

Danny's bloodshot eyes opened again. "Why _d'you _care?" he asked grumpily, at last giving up the fight and just allowing Vlad to hug him. Vlad rolled his eyes, but quickly regained composure.

"I've always cared, little badger. Hate me if you wish, but I see such a common soul in you." The words came out in honeyed tones, caring and concerned.

"I don't want to be like you." The words sounded frightened, and Danny started to push away again. Vlad's grip just became tighter the more Danny struggled, constricting like a snakes coils, trying to get him to relax.

"The reason I've wanted you to be by my side…besides my own loneliness," Vlad added, pleased when he saw a spike of guilt enter Danny's ocean blue eyes, "Is because I _don't _want you to be like me, my boy. Far from it. I don't want you to have to endure what I've endured, especially on your own. And I can imagine the loneliness that you feel," said Vlad knowingly, sinking down on a chair and taking the stricken Danny with him, "Even in the company of your two great friends. Your sister. Your ghostly allies. You must feel so alone in the world, little badger." His hands gently started rubbing Danny's back, and Vlad saw a few stray tears fall onto his suit jacket. "Who else can understand what it's like to never truly belong, in either the spectral realm or the human world?"

Danny let out a shuddering sigh. "Jazz said it was just h-hormones," he said doubtfully, wiping at his eyes. "But now I'm always lonely, even when I'm with people. Especially when I'm with a lot of people," he admitted, looking Vlad in the eyes. "And everything in my heart just hurts lately. I'm never happy. I smile but I don't actually mean it and I laugh but there's nothing in it and I'm lonely and nothing's fun anymore and I'm always thinking about **you**, you damn fruitloop." Danny hiccupped again, and Vlad reached across the table for the fancy glass bottle, pouring Danny another generous serving of red wine. The teen drained his cup in three or four noisy gulps, wincing at the taste. "I have nightmares of you dying alone in this big ass house of yours and of you drinking alone and feeling this…this _hell of an existence_ every single moment of your damn life!" The floodgates opened and Danny started to sob.

Vlad blinked, not expecting that. He uncertainly tugged Danny closer, not familiar with the sensation of a warm and trusting body on his lap. It was a little unnerving, truth be told.

But seeing Danny allowing himself to be so completely vulnerable around the man he considered a foe and crying, crying for him, made Vlad's own heart ache tremendously. It was a terrible, beautiful sort of pain, a smidgen of guilt for making the boy suffer so and great joy for seeing the teen sensing his own misery, _weeping_ because of it.

Danny Fenton was crying for Vlad Masters.

To his great surprise and horror, Vlad found his own eyes dewing with tears.

But just as quickly as they had come, Vlad had blinked them away, and his arms hugged Danny tight and his hands soothed and cradled, while his low voice comforted and hushed, as if Daniel were not a despairing teenager but a distraught infant.

After awhile, when Danny's sobs faded away to whimpers, to silent shaking, Vlad moved his mouth over to the younger hybrid's ear and whispered, "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know." The voice came out jagged and cracked. "I don't know anymore. I want to stop hurting all the damn time."

"What would make you feel better?" He'd fetch him his own personal island if Vlad thought it would prolong the moment.

A dry snort. "I haven't felt good for a long time, Vlad…heck, I haven't wanted to eat anything in a long time." Vlad looked past the boy's baggy T-shirt and noticed for the first time that he could differentiate separate ribs. "….but I'm not feeling so bad right now," he admitted, and Vlad's hopes soared with the quiet words.

"….you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that, little badger."

"Mrrrggggh" was all the reply that Vlad got. Danny sat back and wiped his eyes. "Actually, I kind of feel okay now. Just tired."

"But you aren't hurting?"

Danny hesitated, and offered Vlad an uncertain, wavery smile. "….no. I think I'm good for now."

"Would you like to go home?" Not that Vlad would have let him go, of course, but he needed to test his newfound power. Vlad felt the slightest tremor from Danny, and the boy quickly shook his head, clinging to the man's sleeve.

"…no, no, I'd….I guess I DID leave kinda out of the blue," he admitted, looking remorseful. "But if you're alright with it, I wouldn't mind staying with you for awhile."

"Little badger, that would be delightful."

"Glad to hear it." Danny exhaled and tipped his head back. Vlad would have dearly loved to have known what he was thinking. "I'll call my parents in a bit and tell them that I'm safe. Geez, I'm gonna be dead meat if I head home."

"'In a bit?' And 'if?'" This was a dream surely, a very beautiful dream.

Danny smiled again, and Vlad thought it was wonderful, both sweet and tentative at once.

"I don't really wanna move," he confessed. "And, um, well, y'see…."

"Yes, Daniel?"

Danny looked down, the tips of his ears turning a dull red. "If your offer still stands, I'd…I wouldn't mind taking it. I'm don't wanna do any evil crap," he warned, crossing his arms and looking more like his usual, obstinate self. "So please don't make me."

"Wouldn't dream of it, little badger," murmured Vlad cheerfully, his calm face and tone a mask for the roars of triumph that were bellowing from the depths of his own selfish heart. When Danny closed his eyes and leaned his head against Vlad's chest with a smile, the smirk broke through at last and Vlad's eyes flashed wickedly in the darkness as the flames began to die down in the fireplace, resisting the urge to cackle until his own voice gave out. His hands relaxed on Danny's back, tender talons bringing him closer.

This was perfection; a miracle. So warm and perfect and sweet and safe. The prodigal son had come home to his master at last. Haughty satisfaction faded to fatherly sweetness, and Vlad thought of what he would have to say to Jack and Maddie to make them relinquish custody of the little treasure over to him. He would find a way to convince them—and the state, if they were foolish enough to bring it to court—that Daniel was much better off staying with him.

He sighed and marveled at the sight of the young man sitting so closely with him, who even with his eyes shut, looked relieved. Better. But he'd chosen to come to Vlad because his true heart had yearned to. The puppeteer heart had played its role, but it had in all likelihood melted into Danny's actual heart. The two were now one, and Vlad had his prize.

_But not yet,_ nagged a voice inside of him. _There's still Maddie_. Vlad's buoyant expression darkened for a moment. Yes, but he would have her. He and Daniel would bring her to their side and everyone and everything would be happy. Except for Jack, because he would be dead, and Jasmine, because she was an annoying brat who did not know a good thing when she saw it, but bygones. For now, he would enjoy this sacred moment. Vlad smiled.

And to think, all it took was one of them letting go for this glorious union to come to pass.

~*oOo*~

The next two weeks were busy ones. Maddie had been weak with relief when she discovered that her little boy was safe and sound at Vlad's, but confused and admittedly distraught when she heard Danny insist that he didn't want to come home. She'd begged, cajoled, threatened, and pleaded, and Vlad had felt something—whatever it was, he didn't like it—when he watched Danny wipe away a few tears and continue to insist that he wasn't coming home. The woman had demanded to speak with Vlad, had demanded to know what he had said or done, and the billionaire kept claiming his innocence. He said he wouldn't at all mind having the little badger here in his home, that it would be a delight, but that it was Daniel's decision and whatever he chose, Vlad would stay by it.

"Mads, leave him," Vlad heard his once-best friend say gently. "If those damn anti-depressants didn't help, maybe some quality with his uncle V-man will cheer the kiddo up."

Daniel had been on medication? That had unnerved Vlad just a little, but he'd swept it under the rug, unwilling to deal with details. That had made Maddie waver, and after some more coaxing and convincing, Vlad was delighted to hear her reluctantly give in. Jack had been admittedly confused and slightly upset at the whole affair, but he wholly believed that Vlad would do an excellent job of taking care of Danny for awhile. How ironic.

Jasmine was not so easy to convince; far from it. When Jack and Maddie had left their room to discuss more details in the kitchen, she had gone ballistic, insisted that she talk to Danny, and had practically broken both hybrids' eardrums.

She thought Vlad had kidnapped Danny, had blackmailed him, locked him in a cage. The more gently Danny tried to assuage her fears, the more suspicious she became, and soon Vlad's telephone was ringing off the hook with frantic and angry calls from Tucker and Sam, who thought Danny needed rescue. It took hours of Danny insisting that he was perfectly fine and that he had chosen to come before their shouts turned into incredulous exclamations. Vlad could hear them perfectly well from where he sat, the betrayal in their tones all too evident.

Why hadn't they come to them, Danny's long-time, supposedly trusted friends if he was feeling so low? Why feel so low to begin with when he had THEM? What was wrong with him? Fine, his friends wouldn't come to rescue him right that second, but sooner or later Danny would regret his decision, and the moment he decided to come to his senses, he needed to ring up and they would be there in a flash. The phone call conference ended in tears on Danny's front, and Vlad considering tying Miss Manson's throat in a knot so that his little badger would not have to be bothered by her terrible voice any longer.

Danny had been nearly inconsolable that night, but he had his master to comfort him. The next morning, Vlad had begun to train Danny to distract him from his unhappiness, keen to show him the bright and beautiful possibilities Daniel had never DREAMED awaited him.

The days went by. Jack and Maddie came to the house after a week or so and tried to demand Danny come home. The boy would not go with them; Maddie went so far as to threaten to call the police. She made good on her warning, but the police would not take Danny away nor arrest Vlad. They claimed that while Jack and Maddie had custodial rights, they really didn't want to take away the near-adult young man away (Vlad was extremely grateful he supplied regular donations to the hard-working police force of the state of Wisconsin). In the end, Maddie had tearfully given in once again when Danny had started to sob again, desperate to know what was wrong. He could not tell her.

Because, Vlad believed, there could be nothing wrong. The only people making the teen unhappy was his blasted family and friends.

In the end, Vlad's team of lawyers and the Fenton's lawyer had arranged to meet, and settled out of court; the Fentons would permit Vlad to have semi-custodial rights, but he had to be enrolled in a school. Vlad was only too happy to do so.

After hiring a private tutor, Danny's abilities to began to expand appreciatively, and soon enough the teen was caught up with the rest of his year, enrolled in a fancy high school in Wisconsin known as Brookfield. It was strange seeing Daniel off every morning in a tie and crisp uniform, but Vlad quite liked it on him. Danny didn't appreciate it so much, but he would have done anything to make the man happy.

The two trained in the afternoons, and read by the fire together at night. The smiles Danny would give him when he came home from work were heartbreakingly wonderful, and for the first time in years, Vlad found himself taking ample time off work, keen to spend more time with his new son. On the weekends, there was football, there were bumper cars and board games, there were hikes and swimming and new experiences Vlad had been dying to share with someone for years. There was someone who remembered his birthday and hugged him goodnight and said 'I love you' after a month of this glorious paradise had gone by.

But Daniel would still not call him father and it vexed Vlad to no end. The way Daniel would still call that blasted Jack 'Dad' on the phone burned into his mind, annoyed him when he should have been thrilled in his newfound happiness.

Still, Vlad got the nagging feeling it wasn't enough. Daniel had to be his son and no one else's. One afternoon, he'd nonchalantly asked for the favor, only to see Danny's face fall.

"But I love you," faltered Danny, fumbling with his video game controller. "Isn't that enough?"

Vlad smiled as he blasted apart several of Daniel's men on the screen. "I'm overjoyed to hear you say that. More than you will ever know. But," he added sweetly, while pretense lurked underneath. "I sometimes get the hint that you love Jack more than you love me."

"Not true." Daniel was so upset he lost his focus, and Vlad won the third round. "How could you say that? I may love you two in different ways but that doesn't mean I love you any—wait! Vlad, Vlad, where are you going?" Vlad had abruptly phased through the wall.

Distressed, Danny tried to give chase, but Vlad had teleported to his lab for his ghost tracker, a device very similar to the Fenton Boomerang. Fumbling for the Petri dish on which there was a thread of the genie's hair, Vlad angrily inserted the DNA into the device slamming the button on TRACK, his expression livid.

Just as a distressed Danny came phasing through the wall, Vlad teleported away with the device still in his hands, tracking the genie's location.

~*oOo*~

He found her in the jungle, lazily observing a small straw village below her. Judging by the amount of shells and beads draped over her curvy body, she had probably been recognized as some sort of deity by the inhabitants. When the ghost phased out of nowhere beside her, her expression didn't betray a flicker of surprise. On her chest was the number 61. Business had been good for the genie.

"I have a wish I want you to grant," Vlad said bluntly as he glided towards her, making a face at the hot and muggy air. Uggh, but he would need a shower after this.

"I'd be surprised if you came for any other reason," commented Desiree dryly, her voice becoming a seductive purr. "Though a fairly _large_ number of my clients are VERY keen on seeing me for more than a quaint social call, if you catch my drift. People _do _love it when I….work my magic."

The harem girl draped herself over Vlad's stiff shoulders, and teasingly poked at his nose.

"Though judging from your stoic expression, stone-face, my body is the least of your concerns, and you don't think me very funny. You simply must get a sense of humor, old man. Perhaps that is what you've come to wish for?"

Vlad irritably brushed at Desiree as if she were a particularly irksome fly, and the ghost flitted away, smirking.

"Or, perhaps, you've finally come to beg me to set the boy free from your control. I must admit; you came a lot later than I expected you to. I simply must remember to put your name down in my record book." A sparkly violet notebook and peacock quill appeared out of nowhere, and Desiree absentmindedly flipped to a page, scanning carefully. "Mmmm. You beat a man by the name of Johan Mort by precisely two entire weeks. That's no small feat, especially considering what happened to the poor fool after he insisted I doubled the power of the puppet heart he had installed in his wife. I heard that three days later, he ran into the desert looking for me, desperate for me to undo the spell. Vulture bait in two days."

Vlad huffed.

"I don't have time for your theatrics, ghost. I've come because I want you to increase the power of the puppet heart again."

The notebook fell out of the genie's hands, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Desiree's mouth dropped, and then an angry, cynical look fell over her eyes.

"The fact that the boy prefers your company over his own family's isn't enough?" she asked sardonically. "After so many years, I ask myself why I'm still surprised by the stupidity and greed of you men, yet every dozen years or so, I have the ill fortune to run into yet another insatiable imbecile. Though I must admit, you are particularly worse than many I have met, including the sultan."

Her mocking voice became irrevocably sad before it died away. Vlad raised an eyebrow, eyes still cold.

"I am only a man who knows what he wants," he said shortly. "I have gone over the wish's phrasing many times and I know what tricks you like to play. You have no hope of defeating me."

Desiree laughed-a short, unpleasant laugh.

"Says the puny man who runs to me instead of working to create his own wishes," she commented, smiling like a sly cat when Vlad gave her a particularly filthy look. "Well, it's true, isn't it? You do not bother to take what I have given you and plant seeds of honest trust that can bloom. You will not labor to make the boy love you-it's always back to the genie, whom will _most certainly_ make everything right!" she exclaimed sarcastically.

Vlad struggled to hold back his temper. He still had a wish, and he had no wish to engage Desiree in combat.

"I have built my empire from the bottom up," he said, from behind gritted teeth. "For many years, I have toiled to make it a success. I have schemed for days on end to earn Daniel's affection and failed. If your magic works, why should I not continue to use it?"

"You built your empire out of funds you stole," pointed out Desiree with a sharp wave of her head. "You have to scheme to earn Danny's love because you are not willing to relinquish the idea of tearing his family apart for your own greedy purposes."

Vlad narrowed his eyes and smirked.

"Well, what of you and the sultan? I can imagine why his wife must have sent you away…."

A bolt of magical lightning shot down from the heavens, and Vlad only just teleported away in time to avoid becoming a pile of ash. Desiree glowered at him, quivered in rage-and then, her shoulders sank with weariness and sorrow.

"She was a princess who had been arranged to marry him," she said quietly. "I was but a starving girl on the streets when I was rescued by a courtesan, who adopted me on a whim and taught me everything she knew so that I could survive in the sultan's court. I eventually caught the eye of the sultan himself and was brought into his harem when I was but a young woman. I honestly thought he loved me when he started favoring me over the others, much to their chagrin, and I made the mistake of developing feelings for him. He promised me everything. But his wife soon sent me away in her fury, and I was exiled to a dark cave in the desert, which was sealed by a giant boulder. I died alone in the darkness."

A pregnant pause. Then-

"We are similar, Vlad Masters, but to only the slightest degree. I have felt the ties Madeline's heart has to her husband's, and they are like iron," she explained, wistfulness creeping into her voice. "It would be terrible to use Daniel to attempt to separate the two."

"How did you-"

"I guessed," she said bitterly. "Years of experience. Danny's heart is already clad to yours, albeit in a superficial and a desperate manner. Do you think if I offer you more shackles and padlocks, I can make the boy 'love' you more?"

"Once I have Madeline in my arms, then I will want for nothing," replied Vlad.

"That's what they all say," said Desiree. Vlad ignored her.

"Once Jack is out of the way, I'll win over Maddie's natural love, which will mold Daniel's heart into accepting me as his father and master."

"You think that, huh?" asked Desiree dully. It was not a question.

Vlad frowned. "You have said that all wishes are the same to you…will you not grant me my wish and reduce your number?"

"Always a gentleman." Her hands began to glitter mysteriously. "So, how much more do you want me to do your dirty work for you? Do you want Danny to be attached to you just a little bit more, or would you rather we simply go the whole hog and have his heart wholly devoted to you so that you stop annoying me?"

"I'll go with the latter, thanks," said Vlad, pretending not to notice the venom in Desiree's voice. "I want Daniel to adore me with every fiber of his being, to go against his own morals to make me happy and for him to wish to protect me at all costs. I want him to love me as he's never loved anyone before, including his friends and family."

"You are a fool."

"What difference is it to you?"

Desiree gave him a sad look, but raised her palms and the same mysterious light glowed at her palms. "It is done. Now go home. You have a mess to clean up there. I have no doubt I will be seeing you again soon…when you plead for me to undo your mistakes, be sure to present me with flowers and a charming gift basket."

"Wha—" But the genie irritably curled in on herself with a flourish, and disappeared in a shower of sparks and a poof of smoke, leaving Vlad alone in the wilderness.


	3. But When Life Is Done

**One more chapter to go! I hope you've been enjoying the story thus far. Please review. **

~*oOo*~

* * *

_"Dad…"_

The word was as sweet as clover honey to Vlad's ears. With a smile so large it threatened to fall off his face, he pulled Danny into a bone-breaking hug, happily feeling the boy reciprocate it. Vlad closed his eyes and held his hard won conquest, marveling at the ample waves of happiness washing over him, sweeping him away. Embracing Danny—as his self-proclaimed son—was infinitely more glorious than he could ever have wished.

It was as if he'd managed to tug Excalibur out of the stone after years of tearing his hands in hopeless attempts to claim a priceless treasure, or had charmed some elusive, fantastic and wild creature to nestle against his chest, warm and safe and HIS.

Warmth bloomed inside of his chest like candlelight, enveloping his senses and making his face glow with satisfaction for the first time in years.

_This is real, _he thought numbly as his hand rubbed soothingly against the whimpering boy_. So this is what it's like, being needed_. How did he ever survive without it?

At the genie's snide words, Vlad hadn't been certain what to expect. He half-expected to come back to some devilish trick of Desiree's running amok, setting his house on fire, but there had only been Danny in his study, gratifying Vlad with his tremendously fretful pacing and words. When Vlad had at last appeared, Danny had thrown himself at the man with an exclamation of joy, wondering how he'd ever been such an idiot as to love Jack Fenton, the 'stupidest asswipe' (how Vlad loved hearing that) who'd ever lived. The halfas spent the evening in each other's arms, Danny whining whenever Vlad gently unwound from him and cheerfully announced his bedtime.

~*oOo*~

Danny was supposed to call his parents every day, but it slipped from every day to once every other day, to once a week. The wistful longing in his eyes whenever he pulled out photos of his loved ones slowly began to die away, and it wasn't long before Danny had packed them all in a box and stuffed them in his closet. Soon enough, there were only photos of him and Vlad together carpeting his room, and Danny only continued to collect more. He seemed terribly not himself whenever Vlad was not close by, seemed reluctant to leave Vlad even to go to the bathroom, and after a few weeks went by, Vlad had found that Danny had taken to copying him.

If Vlad wanted an English muffin, porridge, and black coffee for breakfast, so did Danny, even though the billionaire thought these things a tad dull for the boy's normally sugary-frosted taste (And he knew Danny well enough by now that the boy loathed coffee). At first, the man found it positively adorable, had approved whole-heartedly when Daniel had even taken to dressing more formally, like himself. But it soon stretched to other things, and Vlad began to wonder.

"'Dumpty Humpty?'" asked Vlad disapprovingly one evening when the two had stopped by Danny's bedroom. The elder half-ghost was frowning at an old poster of Danny's, nose wrinkled in distaste. "That sounds rather ridiculous."

He'd expected Danny to laugh it off and tease him, but the boy had only started as violently as if Vlad had tasered him, and in a flash, he'd turned into Danny Phantom. He'd turned to Vlad, green eyes downcast, a sheepish child accused of wrongdoing.

"You don't like it?"

Before Vlad could do anything, Danny had soared up to his poster and abruptly tore it from the wall, immediately crushing it up and setting it ablaze in green ecto energy. Vlad blinked as he suddenly found himself underneath a flurry of flakes, black as pitch. He coughed and wiped himself clean, brushing off Danny's stammering apologies.

"I'm not certain if you had to go THAT far, Daniel," he grumbled, his dark eyes softening considerably when Danny's gloved hands flew together as if the boy were praying. "Well," he said, after a moment's pause, "I suppose it's better for the décor…"

A relieved grin fell across Danny's face, as if the man had told him he'd been given a reprieve from death row. "Yeah…what kind of music do YOU listen to you?"

Vlad drew an arm around Danny's shoulders as the boy floated to his level and led him out, smiling broadly. Ten years of piano lessons were not to be wasted, it seemed….

"Oh, you ARE in a treat, little badger." He assured him, chuckling softly. Time for the brat to get a taste of culture.

It wasn't long before Danny was blasting Beethoven and Chopin in his room so loudly that Vlad could hear it from his master bedroom upstairs.

~*oOo*~

As the novelty of having Danny stay with him began to weaken somewhat, Vlad found himself almost _disappointed_ with the fact that the teen felt such a need to conform his likes and interests to Vlad's. He certainly wasn't expecting such a reaction from himself, and it unsettled him as he lay in bed at night, listening to Danny's clumsy but earnest attempts to master the violin and planting vintage pillow over his ears. Ugh. He really was trying so hard, but the music sounded more like the yowls of a trapped cat.

In the fantasies Vlad had had of the two living together, he had pictured them arguing about their tastes in entertainment, clothing, work ethic—everything. He imagined himself sighing as Daniel played noisy and annoying video games, lecturing the boy on healthy food habits when he noticed the teen sneaking into the pantry for snacks yet again, begging Danny to wear something other than those atrocious, baggy jeans.

But living with Danny was proving to be quite different than he had ever expected. If Vlad made one joke about Danny's diet, he was certain to see the boy munching on carrot sticks the next day, if he indeed ate anything at all. Vlad had made a few teasing comments on Danny's bland t-shirts; after a month or so of living with the billionaire, Danny had begun favoring crisp collared shirts and vests with shiny buttons and dress pants rather than his normal careless repertoire.

When Vlad read aloud an article about teenagers watching too much television at the breakfast table, he never again saw the TV sets on unless Vlad himself turned them on. Instead of slasher action movies he knew Danny so dearly loved, they watched _Casablanca, Gone With The Wind_, and _Les Miserables_. Danny had never griped once, when Vlad knew that the teen were asked to watch these movies in class, he would have immediately gone to sleep with his dimwit sidekicks. The thought made Vlad roll his eyes.

And since Vlad had made it very clear that he expected nothing but the best grades, Danny gave them to him, his report cards covered with blue As and positive comments from teachers. While parenting books had warned Vlad that Danny would be exploring his individuality and likely become moody and rebellious, he didn't beg the billionaire for an extended curfew mostly because he was never out at all at nights, ghost hunting or socializing. He was polite, well-mannered, meek and modest, never once challenging Vlad's authority.

While this was paradise for Vlad in the first couple of months, he did begin to think after a while that this was perhaps a little abnormal. And to be painfully honest, he somewhat _missed_ the sparks that had flown between them during their battles. He was getting a different Danny Fenton—well, a different Danny Masters—than anyone else was, and this pained him. He had to wonder just how _specific_ he had been in his wishes.

But he shoved the thoughts aside every morning when Danny would wrestle the breakfast tray away from the butler and bring in trays of food, his kind eyes sparkling.

~*oOo*~

Spring passed into summer, and the days began to pass by in a blur. Maddie and Jack were starting to get upset with the amount of visits Danny kept 'rescheduling,' and left warning voice messages on Vlad's cell phone, messages that eventually threatened another court showdown. Knowing he could easily defeat them but preferring to defuse the situation, Vlad had asked Danny to return home for a week or two. Danny didn't protest, but the look on his face suggested that the older hybrid had instructed him to boil a vat of live puppies as he trudged away from the room.

"Chin up, little badger," Vlad soothed as Danny sullenly dragged his suitcase down the stairs, skin remarkably white. Had Danny always been so pale? "It's just for a little while. You'll be able to catch up with all your old friends and the like."

Danny looked so dispirited Vlad wondered if he might cry. "They aren't my friends anymore. They haven't been for weeks," he said dully as the footman opened the front door and bowed them out. The two halfas trotted towards the nearby chopper, which was waiting on its launchpad, propellers spinning. "Vlad, can't you just say I'm sick or something?" Danny begged anxiously as a servant took his bags away and scurried towards them to the copter. Vlad smiled and drew the boy in for a hug, smirking slightly as Danny buried his face into his shoulder, standing on tiptoe.

"You've used that excuse twice now, little badger," the billionaire reminded gently. He knew he would undoubtedly miss the teen, but Danny had taken to hovering around the man as of late—more so than usual. It was starting to make getting any work done quite difficult. "I'm sure your mother misses you desperately."

Danny rolled his eyes, something flashing in them. Resentment? Anger? Vlad was taken aback. When was the last time Danny had gotten _angry_ about anything? "Yeah, but I have to spend a fortnight with the world's biggest headache," he complained, smacking himself in the forehead. "Just hearing his voice just makes me—" Danny twitched violently. "—crazy all inside! I…I just…" His hands started shaking wildly. "I don't know what to do….it SCARES me…."

"Shhh," said Vlad, barely masking another smirk. "Run along and give your love to your mother for me."

Danny turned his eyes to the ground and nodded. After pecking the crown of Danny's head, Vlad strolled back to the house, whistling cheerfully as his silver hair flapped in the wind the helicopter blades were producing. He did not turn around once—if he did, he would have seen Danny standing out there by himself, his blue eyes sharp with pain.

~*oOo*~

Two days later, Vlad got the phone call. He had carelessly flicked his cell open when it had started ringing sharply, and barked a curt greeting into the receiver as he would to any of his subordinates.

But Madeline's tearful voice answered him, frantic and wild, and Vlad had _shook_ from the terror he had heard in her tone. When he finally managed to drag out the reason to her distress, Vlad had been so startled he very nearly dropped the phone again. He listened to the love of his life's claims but was too struck dumb to believe because what she was saying was _impossible._

"I don't know why this is happening to my little boy," sobbed Maddie. "I don't know where I went wrong. He just went _ballistic_."

Danny and Jazz had gotten into a nasty fight the following evening, and when Danny had tried to storm out of the house, Jasmine had tackled him, and the two came to blows. By the time Jack had pulled them apart, Danny was sporting a black eye and several scrapes, whereas Jazz had a black eye, a missing tooth, and several bruised ribs.

Needless to say, the visit was cut short. That evening, Vlad had waited outside the mansion for the copter to return, and was not disappointed when Danny hopped out, his unblemished eye glowing softly in the darkness.

Madeline had to have been lying. That was not the eye of someone who had attacked the sister he so adored. That eye was warm and loving and fixed on Vlad, full of bright cheer. Danny didn't bother waiting for the helicopter to land; when the house was in sight, he transformed into Danny Phantom and swooped down towards Vlad, expression tranquil.

"I missed you," Danny confessed as he wrapped his arms around Vlad. "I'm glad to be home again."

Vlad found himself stiffly returning the embrace, more confused than anything else. He had no love for Jasmine, but for his sweet little badger to deliberately harm her? The world had gone mad. "Daniel, what happened?"

Danny just shrugged lazily, though his unbruised eye twitched ever so slightly.

"Well, Jazz started talking to me about Stockholm Syndrome or some garbage," he began, and Vlad's insides boiled up, almost prepared for what Danny would say next. "And I told her to leave me alone. She just took hold of my shoulders and started shrilling about how I've changed, how different I am, how I need help." Danny's voice remained friendly, but there was definitely a bitter, dangerous hiss to it. "I tried to explain to her how well I'm doing now and how happy I am, but she wouldn't believe me. She actually started attacking _you."_ Now the pleasantness was gone from Danny's voice, and Vlad stared as Danny started quivering, smile still frozen on his face.

"I told her to take it back. So I started slamming her face in the wall. She's lucky I couldn't use my ghost powers, else Maddie and Jack would have had to peel her off of it." _When did Danny start calling his parents Maddie and Jack_? "I…I don't know what happened next. It's a blur…Jack pulled us apart and then Jazz was…Jazz was lying on the ground, her hands over her mouth…." Danny tilted his head back and let out a moan, rocking back and forth on his toes. "I hurt…I hurt…Jazzy…."

But the fright left his eyes and Danny assumed a particularly bored expression. "So now I'm back and everything's okay!"

Disturbed, Vlad said nothing. He was touched that Danny had felt compelled to defend his better father's honor, but still…Jasmine, of all people….

Danny let out a nervous hiccup as Vlad led him back to the mansion, murmuring something about a cup of tea.

"I'm scared," Danny murmured fearfully as they walked down the halls. The billionaire told Danny not to be silly.

~*oOo*~

Danny started calling Vlad while he was at work. At first once every so often.

Then every other day.

Then every day.

And then a few times a day. From school. Irked, Vlad had finally lost it one Autumn evening and shouted at Danny, who had only curled up like a sad cat in his room, rocking back and forth on his carpet. That was the state an apologetic Vlad had found him in that next night, paler than death and twice as bony.

His grades were beginning to slip—it wasn't as though Vlad didn't think Danny wasn't studying hard enough; to be frank, he thought the teen was going seriously overboard. The boy scarcely ever slept, and there was a pair of darkening rings underneath his wide blue eyes. In the few times Danny did sleep, the boy had had nightmares, terrible, horrendous ones, judging by the fact that Danny usually wound up in his bed and cried until dawn.

Danny's teachers reported the normally bright young man to be abnormally obsessed with good grades, though he was certainly more irritable and angry than they remembered him being. He often came to school with his hair ill-groomed (which to the school of elites, was unforgivable), and he was losing weight and patience. Every so often he let out a nervous giggle, and began "taking ill" quite often. While Vlad believed 50% of these cases were genuine, he believed the other 50% was just the boy acting so that he could go home early.

Approaching Danny with the truth would have been horrifying, considering the fact that his own heart had only ever received a gentle bump from Desiree's magic. But what if Danny lost it on Vlad, decided that he wouldn't stay with the man anymore? No. No, he would hire a physician and a psychologist to look after Danny, and then everything would go back to being fine, no more unnerving stares, no desperate messages, no hysteric fits when Vlad tried to sneak away on a business trip alone.

~*oOo*~

The man called for a world renowed physician for young people—Dr. Franz Pemberton—and invited him to the house, leaving him alone with Danny in a room with a one way window. After some conversation, Vlad slipped away to leave the good doctor to his questions, creeping off behind the one-way window and intercom so that he could view the spectacle unnoticed.

Everything would be fine, Vlad assured himself as he took a seat and pressed the intercom on, leaning back lazily. The doctor would prescribe some medicine and some physical activity and everything would be just **fine**.

"So Daniel, what seems to be the problem as of late?" he heard the specialist ask kindly. Danny just shrugged and looked down at his polished shoes with weary eyes. It was a long time before he said anything.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," he confessed, biting his lip and crossing his arms. "Lately, I just….look, can we call Vlad back into the room, please?"

The doctor made a note on his clipboard and frowned.

"In a few moments, I promise. I need you to answer some questions for me, Daniel. How have you been feeling this past month?"

"It depends," Danny replied. "I used to like going to school, but now I hate it."

"Well, that's normal in a young man," said Dr. Franz reassuringly, making another note. "What is it about school you don't like?"

"I can't concentrate anymore. School lasts too long. What's worse is coming home and waiting for Vlad to come back from work."

"Do you get very lonely in the house?"

"Very."

"Well, why don't you invite some friends over?"

Danny twitched uncomfortably on the paper-covered table. It crinkled underneath him. "I would, but they make me tired pretty quickly. All they want to do is talk about music or video games and stuff."

"And you dislike music and video games?"

"No."

"Well, why do you tire of your friends?"

"Because they never stay on the subject _I_ want to talk about," complained Danny. "I want to talk about Vlad, and they might add a comment or two in there, but I think they're just being polite. They get bored when I talk, so we wind up not having much to say to each other."

He glanced at the clock and rubbed his shoulder, glancing at the door.

"We don't talk nearly as much as we used to. My classmates at Brookfield think I'm a little weird now, so I mostly just hang out in the library during lunch these days."

Bemused, Vlad leaned closer towards the loudspeaker. Well. Daniel had never mentioned_ that_ in any of their recent discussions….

The doctor's brow was beginning to crease a little, but he simply nodded.

"I see. So you mostly just want to talk about Vlad?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because I like to, okay?" Danny snapped. Looking startled, he looked down at the tiled floor, apologetic. "Sorry-I didn't mean to be short with you."

"That's alright," said Dr. Franz soothingly. "I think I can understand; Vlad has taken you into his home, and has become your mentor. You and he are of a very rare number. It certainly can't be easy, being half-dead."

"Vlad makes it much better."

"Misery loves company," commented Dr. Franz, turning a page.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing…..what do you like to do in your spare time?"

"I used to like watching the stars and making astronomy maps and stuff."

Dr. Franz's dark eyes lit up. "Ah! Amazing for a boy your age."

"I don't do it very much anymore," said Danny blandly. "Mostly, I just collect newspaper clippings about Vlad. There are a lot of them-I'm starting a collage. Did you know Vlad was billionaire of the year two years in a row?"

"Yes, that's very-"

"And that he was invited to host the Emmys last year?"

"Indeed. But-"

"And that his favorite pastry is lemon meringue pie, with coconut atop the meringue?"

"I-"

"Or that he was invited to star in a movie? Or that his favorite vacation spot outside the country is in Scotland? Or that he threw the first pitch for the World Series? Or that his favorite color is carmine? Or that he used to smoke a pipe, but doesn't anymore because it's bad for him?"

Danny prattled on and on, blue eyes serene and merry. The doctor cast a glance at the one-way mirror, expression dumbfounded. Vlad's was one of dread.

~O*o*O~

"This is ridiculous," grumbled Vlad, coloring slightly as he went through Danny's notebook. "How in the WORLD did Daniel realize I bought a new coat on Thursday? What, did he go through my trash and find the receipt?"

The two were now alone in the examining room, and Danny was reading a magazine down the hall. Vlad flicked through another few pages of Danny's book, flabbergasted.

"Apparently, Daniel's been doing research online. Oh, for goodness' sake-this article is five years old," he complained, tossing the book aside and sending a scowl at the doctor. "And then there's another interview on my opinion of stock trading….I don't even _remember_ making that interview!"

The doctor closed his eyes and held up his hands, expression calm.

"Mr. Masters, let me assure you this behavior doesn't indicate that Danny is mentally subnormal-"

"You call this _normal _behavior?" Vlad asked incredulously. "I swear, the boy has every single article that so much has my _name _in it."

"I did the same thing in my youth," said Dr. Franz mildly. "Only my obsession was with martial-arts celebrities. I used to pretend to do martial arts every day with my friends out back after school. I had an entire scrapbook devoted to Bruce Lee. This is simply something young men do."

Not appeased, Vlad said nothing. The doctor continued:

"From what it appears, Danny might not have known it, but he was very unhappy for a very long time in his old home."

Vlad opened his mouth, thought better of it, and closed it.

"You took him away from that, sir. Out of the environment he's lived all of his life. It must be quite a transition for him, and he might be a bit clingy to you because he's a teenager and unsure of himself."

"'_Bit_ clingy?'" Vlad said. "All the color drains out of his face when I so much as leave the room."

"Well, he admires you very much. You're the only other ghost-hybrid he has near him; remember you two are of an entirely different species than those who inhabit the Earth," said Dr. Franz gently. "If it were me, I wouldn't be coping so well. I would be very lonely, and if I had company, why, I'd cling to it as much out of instinct as I did comfort. You've _survived_, Vlad, when many would not in your shoes. You've become Danny's caretaker, companion, mentor, and role model over night! Don't you think it's natural for a young man like Danny to become curious about you, to want to be around you?"

Vlad bit his lip, but still said nothing. However, he was slightly reassured. Franz smiled at him.

"Give him time. The 'security blanket' status will wear off if Daniel is given time to adjust, I assure you. Encourage him to enroll in a sport or a club or something; he'll become distracted soon enough. In the meantime, don't worry if Daniel is eager to spend time with you. The novelty of it will fade, I assure you."

Vlad rolled his eyes.

"Thanks so much."

"I meant nothing by it," said Dr. Franz cheerfully. "It's the same with all people. Even the closest of friends become accustomed to each other's company if they're together enough. The novelty and excitement will most likely fade, in comparison to the joy friends might feel upon uniting after a year's absence. Give it time. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Daniel, Mr. Masters. I guarantee it."

* * *

"You killed Jack?"

Throat too tight to speak, Danny nodded, eyes flooding over with more tears. Vladimir slowly knelt down to Danny's level, numb with disbelief. For a moment, a deathly hush broke over them both, while Danny's chest shook with silent sobs. Then, when Vlad could stand it no longer, he softly asked:

"Why?"

Incredulous, Danny moved his eyes from the floor to Vlad's face, tears still trickling to the carpet.

"W-why? Y-You k-know. I was….I was so scared and unhappy when y-you left for C-Canada without me….I-I thought you'd n-never come b-back," he confessed, burying his face in his hands. "Then, all of a s-sudden, it just…I don't know….seemed so _n-natural_ to want to g-get rid of D-Daddy. He w-was in y-your way. He made you _unhappy_."

Danny slowly moved his palms away from his wet face, and Vlad saw a strange inferno burning beneath the arctic blue eyes that he'd never seen before, not even in their battles. Danny took deep breaths to steady himself, and went on:

"When I-I realized _that_, I found myself flying through the Ghost Zone before I could think about it anymore."

"How the devil did you open my portal without my password?" Vlad demanded. Danny cast him a tired look.

"Maddie Masters. Wasn't v-very hard to f-figure out. I got b-back home and found e-everyone in the house a-asleep. Well, e-except for…._him_. And then-"

Danny choked off and returned his intense stare to the floor, tears blinding his vision. Vlad seized hold of his shoulders, and ruthlessly shook him.

"And then," Vlad encouraged.

Danny's eyes fluttered shut, fluttered open again. The boy looked exhausted enough to faint to the ground then and there, but Vlad keenly shook him until Danny looked at him again. The teen hiccupped, and continued in a dead sort of voice:

"Jack was having a late night snack in the kitchen. I snuck up behind him. I…I sent a bolt of ecto-energy to his head, and knocked him onto the floor. He was dazed. I grabbed a kitchen knife."

Vlad's eyes turned to the blood all over Danny's front. The younger halfa's voice grew ragged, raw, and stronger.

"It was….I felt…..this…." Danny held up his trembling palms before his face. "This weird….energy moving my hands. When I tried to pull back and save him, I remembered how much he made you suffer, and t-then-"

Danny sobbed.

"I kept _stabbing_ him, over and over and over again!" he cried out helplessly, wildly. "Even when I was sure my dad was dead, that I'd…I'd killed him, I just couldn't _stop _until his blood was everywhere in the k-kitchen! I _enjoyed _killing my dad, though I was trying not to yell for mom to come and stop me the entire time! W-what is WRONG with me?"

His hysteric cry turned into a wail of despair, and Vlad pulled him into a warm embrace, murmuring soothingly to him and rubbing his back and shoulders. Danny buried his face into Vlad's shoulder and mumbled, "I kept cutting him, even when he was dead…I wanted him to die so **badly**….he hurt you and he deserved to die, deserved to die, deserved to die, I **enjoyed** watching him writhe like a poor fish and lie still…."

For what felt like hours, the two simply sat there, in the middle of the parlor. Danny's tearstained face was still hidden in Vlad's jacket, and he clutched at the man for dear life. Vlad's alabaster fingers kept absentmindedly stroking through the boy's raven dark hair, wondering where the elation was. In a few hours time Maddie would discover her dead husband and at last Vlad could work the mechanics that would bring her into his arms.

Everything, everyone would finally be happy.

But as Danny's sobs continued to echo in his large estate, he didn't find himself feeling particularly gleeful.


End file.
